


flowers blooming from stone paved streets

by TheYaoiChick



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Don't copy to another site, Drabble, Episode: s01e03 The Mark of Nimueh, Gen, Good Morgana (Merlin), Magic Revealed, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Self-Indulgent, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-23 20:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21086984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheYaoiChick/pseuds/TheYaoiChick
Summary: In which Morgana is not oblivious, and Merlin’s luck runs out a little earlier than he’d thought. He guess he should have paid more attention to Gaius’s warnings to be careful.





	flowers blooming from stone paved streets

Watching as Gwen and her father leave, Merlin doesn’t expect for Morgana to turn to him and say,

  
“I want you to know, your secret is safe with me.”

  
“My secret?” Merlin asked confused.

  
“Merlin don’t pretend, I saw it with my own eyes. It’s not as if you were being particularly subtle about it,” Morgana said with a small smile.

  
“You did? I haven’t been?” Merlin gulped. Oh, Gaius was going to _kill_ him when he finds out about this. That is, if Uther or Arthur don’t do it first. Because there was only one secret she could be talking about.

  
“I understand why you don’t want anyone to know about it,” Morgana says with a nod.

  
“Well yeah, obviously,” Merlin agrees, wishing she’d just say it. Say it so he doesn't have to and risk exposing himself if he’s wrong. On the very slim chance that she’s misinterpreted something.

  
“I’ll do my best to help you keep it hidden, but you _must_ take more care to keep it hidden. If Arthur wasn’t so oblivious to anything he doesn’t want to see, he would have noticed that little wind trick of yours too,” Morgana warns, and Merlin lets out a breath while at the same time his heart speeds up like a drum.  
At least now he knows for sure she knows.

  
“I’ve been trying! And it’s a little hard to promise that when Arthur is hell bound to getting himself killed in any and every possible way there is,” Merlin answered.

  
“Why would you be trying to protect Arthur? I mean, not that I want him dead and I’m grateful you aren’t here for revenge no matter how justified it would be against Uther and his family, but being... What you are. I can’t see why you would want to protect the man who would turn around and put you on the pyre the second he saw a flash of gold. No matter what you’ve done for him,” Morgana said with a tilt of her head and narrowed eyes.

  
“Aum.. Well that’s because.. Well... I really don’t feel comfortable talking about this here. Actually I’m a little surprised no ones heard us already. Can we maybe... move this conversation somewhere else? Or even finish some other time?” Merlin asked as he looked around the dungeon.

  
Now that he’s stopped to think about it, he wouldn’t be surprised if Arthur starts yelling at him as soon as he’s seen him for keeping him waiting.

  
“You’re right. I should have thought of that. But unfortunately we’re also not going to find anywhere that’s much safer to talk about things like this, and I do want an answer to that question,” Morgana answered even as she anxiously looked towards the stairs herself. As if now that they brought up the topic of magic, Uther will appear out of thin air to slap a pair of shackles on him.   
Which really wouldn’t surprise Merlin in the least. Not to mention he’d be saving him some trouble seeing as he’s already in the dungeons.

  
Merlin pauses and thinks, what the hell? She already knows and it’s not like Gaius can kill him twice. So what’s another small risk?

  
“We can meet in Gaius’s chambers. No one comes barging in unless they’re ill since no one wants to disturb his studies and experiments. And there’s the added plus that he... well.... that he already knows about it.”

  
“_Gaius_ knows? Why on earth would you have told him of all people? He’s almost as loyal to Uther as Arthur is. How could you possibly know for certain he won’t turn you in the second you’ve left your guard down?” Morgana asked dumb smacked. While granted she would have been shocked had he said anyone knew, knowing fear makes the most brave of men turn on each other if only to protect their families if not themselves, but she never would have guessed Gaius. Because fear is one thing, loyalty is something else entirely. And Gaius gave his to Uther years ago.

  
“Well I didn’t really... tell him, exactly. I’ve never told anyone, for obvious reasons. No he knows, _has_ known, since I first arrived here because I may have... Saved his life when we first met,” Merlin said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He couldn’t help but keep his eyes glued to the door way. Every word spoken, every second spent down here in the open, is just more of a chance of being caught.

  
“Saved his life? Well then, you’re quite the hero then aren’t you. Saving him, Gwen, Arthur apparently. And I’d bet you were telling the truth earlier today, that it was you who healed Gwen’s father. And all at the risk at being found out. To go so far as to actually admit it in front of the entire counsel and Uther even! I can’t decide if that makes you remarkably brave or completely foolish. Though I have to wonder, what could possibly have been going on that Gaius’s life was in danger in the first place?” she asked.

  
“Believe me, I’ve been asking myself the same since this whole mess started. And he fell, the balcony in his chambers broke as he was startled which admittedly might have been my fault. I did call up to him, I guess he didn’t hear the door open,” Merlin shrugged, lips twisting in a frown.

  
He didn’t like thinking about that much, not only because Gauis could have been really hurt and Merlin had grown to care about him a lot, but also because he knows that had it been anyone else that one good deed would have been his last. He doesn’t even want to _begin_ on the guilt his mother would infinitely feel when or even if she was ever told. She’d sent him here to protect him, to help him learn control, and if it should have lead to his death the second he arrived? He doesn’t think she’d ever recover from that. She already lost his father, he doesn’t want her to go through the pain of losing him too.

  
“I can’t believe it. Not that you saved him that I have no problem seeing, but that he actually kept it secret. If it had just been that one instant, and he didn’t know you were still using it, I could see it as gratitude for saving his life. Since it would only be that _one_ time I could see him convincing himself that it wasn’t betraying Uther since nothing came of it or could even convince himself that he misunderstood the situation because of adrenaline and the fear of almost dying. But if he knows your still using it, then that’s actually covering it up, out right lying to him. And that’s... That’s something I never thought would ever happen,” Morgana said with a shake of her head.

  
“I don’t think he ever really thought it would happen either. But I do know he’s going to kill me since you know, he’s always nagging at me to be more careful after all so you can ask all the questions you want then. Might even distract him enough that he forgets to be mad at me altogether. But we really should leave. Being down here while talking of this... To be honest it’s making me a little ill,” Merlin said as he slowly made his way to the stairs, making sure to keep Morgana in sight as so to make sure she knew he wasn’t running from the conversation.

  
“No of course you’re right. Look, I’ll meet you tomorrow, tomorrow night actually. I can say it’s to get my sleeping draughts reevaluated so no one asks too many questions. You head up first, I’m sure Arthur will be in quite a mood with you being gone so long,” Morgana said with a small smirk as she waved him away.

  
“Right. Alright yeah sounds good, see you then.”

  
Merlin stumbles on the first stair as he’s talking, nearly tipping backwards before managing to catch himself on the wall. Face flushed, he turns and hurries away.

  
Though he’s not looking forward to having explain everything, nor to Gaius’s lectures and disapproving eyebrow of doom, he can honestly say he’s not to upset that she knows. He can use all the help he can get and... It’ll be nice to talk to someone about it. Someone who’s his own age and not a riddle speaking dragon.  
If he happened to have a slight skip in his step and blinding smile on his face well... No one’s around to see it.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, Comments and Bookmarks make my day~~


End file.
